The Righteous Men (2006)

Pretty much like reading a Dan Brown book -- somehow the whole style could almost have been his. Mum said she thought Sam Bourne was better: I'm not sure, maybe a little. It's enjoyable enough as light reading, a page-turner, a pot-boiler, whatever. The sense of urgency was a bit difficult -- for some people in the story, it was the end of the world; for the sceptical reader, and for the main character, it was "just" one woman and her unborn child. A bit lacking, maybe, given that the focus on mystery meant I wasn't very invested in the characters.

The background is, of course, some kind of cult. They emerge quite late in the day, really, and I'm not sure I really kept up with all that was happening. Of course, you can partially blame the huge amounts of information for that. By about halfway through I was letting a lot of it breeze past me...

The writing is okay, perhaps a bit better than Dan Brown's (I refer you, as I have done before, to this article: Dan Brown's writing is, in summary, shockingly bad), though some lines just made me wince. E.g. "Will turned his face into a question mark." I get what it means, but it's such a ridiculous image...

Involving enough, anyway, but nothing really special. ( )

I'd have given this 4.5 stars if I'd had the option! A page-turner, with depth, interest, riddles, and unexpected twists. Highly recommended. ( )

I got this through Bookmooch after reading and enjoying The Final Reckoning a couple of years ago.

Here we have a cracking thriller where Anglo-American journalist, Will stumbles across a big story, the magnitude of it confirmed by the kidnapping of his wife, Beth. Will faces a race against time, he must find out how two very different murders are connected and why his own wife has been taken into “protective custody”, not realising they are all part of a global conspiracy. His search leads him into Crown Heights, Brooklyn, into the heart of the Hassidic Jewish community, an unlikely place to find a kidnapper. Will enlists the help of his friends Tom, a computer geek, and TC, his Jewish ex-girlfriend, as well as the cryptic text messages from an unknown source.

Bourne, like his main character Will, is a journalist, which lends an air of authenticity to the role not always found in books of this genre. The author has obviously done a lot of research, both on the technical and religious / historical side, but what I appreciated most was that the information was clearly given, giving depth to the story, driving the narrative on without seeming too contrived.

As the book deals with a religious prophecy, it is unsurprising that comparisons are made between it and The Da Vinci Code (such as the blurb on the book itself). While I believe a Da Vinci Code fan would enjoy this book, there are major differences. Will, unlike Landon, may be the sleuth, but he is not expert, this means we learn new information as he does, and making him much more likeable. As a journalist, Bourne has a good style, with few unnecessary passages. I recommend this for anyone looking for a well-written thriller. ( )

A great story ( )

this was kind of an old testament based "the davinci code" but better written. it's a fun and fast read. a murder mystery with a lot of twists and turns. i really enjoyed it. granted, it's not going to win a pullitzer or something crazy like that, but it's an enjoyable book. ( )